System and Method for Vacation Club Management

ABSTRACT

A system and method for vacation club management. Embodiments can include recording a vacation club ownership interest in a database, receiving details pertaining to the vacation club ownership interest, receiving a first point amount pertaining to the vacation club ownership interest, recording a travel activity, receiving a second point amount of points used for the travel activity, and calculating a remaining point amount based on the first point amount and the second point amount.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application61/705,354, filed Sep. 25, 2012 and entitled VACATION CLUB MANAGEMENTSYSTEM, METHOD AND APPARATUS, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The vacation club industry includes a large marketplace of resortsaround the world that sell time-based ownership rights to resort units.An owner of a timeshare unit has the right to use the unit for a certainamount of days or weeks per year. While the timeshare deed orright-to-use agreement is usually tied to a specific unit and a specificdate range of the year, some timeshare resorts and clubs allow atimeshare owner to visit other locations at different times. This istypically accomplished by assigning a point value to a length of timespent at a particular unit in a particular season. An owner can thenexchange some or all of the point value of their purchased unit and timeto obtain a stay at a different resort.

Frequently, these timeshare points can also be exchanged or convertedfor use with affiliate programs. Such affiliate programs can includefrequent flyer miles, hotel points, other timeshare clubs and exchanges,and so forth. However, the timeshare owner has to convert the timesharepoints to affiliate points and keep track of the used points, remainingpoints, and so forth. The process becomes increasingly complicated forindividuals owning multiple timeshares, which may be at various clubs orresorts, each of which may have their own point system and affiliategroups. Recording and managing such data can be frustrating, andtimeshare owners resort either to manually entering the data in a ledgeror spreadsheet, or simply calling customer support for an explanation ofavailable points and options.

A solution for easily managing timeshare ownership and affiliate data istherefore desired.

SUMMARY

According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a system for vacationclub management is disclosed. The system can include a database forstoring data related to at least one user account stored in thedatabase, the data including at least one vacation club ownershipinterest associated with the user account, vacation club detailsassociated with the ownership interest, a point amount associated withthe ownership interest, and at least one travel activity associated withthe ownership interest. The system can further include a communicationslink for connecting to at least one remote computing device, and atleast one processor programmed with instructions such that the system isoperable to record a vacation club ownership interest in the database,receive details pertaining to the vacation club ownership interest,receive a first point amount pertaining to the vacation club ownershipinterest, record a travel activity, receive a second point amount usedfor the travel activity, and calculate a remaining point amount based onthe first point amount and the second point amount.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a method for vacation clubmanagement is disclosed. The method can include recording a vacationclub ownership interest in a database, receiving details pertaining tothe vacation club ownership interest, receiving a first point amountpertaining to the vacation club ownership interest, recording a travelactivity, receiving a second point amount of points used for the travelactivity, and calculating a remaining point amount based on the firstpoint amount and the second point amount.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. Thefollowing detailed description should be considered in conjunction withthe accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of an exemplary embodiment of a networked computersystem.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a vacation club managementsystem.

FIG. 3 a shows an exemplary menu interface for a vacation clubmanagement system.

FIG. 3 b shows an exemplary vacation club portfolio interface for avacation club management system.

FIG. 3 c shows an exemplary vacation club details interface for avacation club management system.

FIG. 3 d shows an exemplary travel activity partner interface for avacation club management system.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary method of registering an ownership interest ina vacation club with a vacation club management system.

FIG. 5 shows exemplary point usage interfaces of a vacation clubmanagement system.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary method of tracking a user's travel activity.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary vacation club snapshot interface for avacation club management system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description andrelated drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention.Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spiritor the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detailor will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of theinvention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the descriptiondiscussion of several terms used herein follows.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are notlimiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood thatthe described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms“embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do notrequire that all embodiments of the invention include the discussedfeature, advantage or mode of operation.

Further, many of the embodiments described herein are described in termsof sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of acomputing device. It should be recognized by those skilled in the artthat the various sequence of actions described herein can be performedby specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)) and/or by program instructions executed by at least oneprocessor. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can beembodied entirely within any form of computer-readable storage mediumsuch that execution of the sequence of actions enables the processor toperform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects ofthe present invention may be embodied in a number of different forms,all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of theclaimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the embodimentsdescribed herein, the corresponding form of any such embodiments may bedescribed herein as, for example, “a computer configured to” perform thedescribed action.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer system 111 upon which anembodiment of the present invention may be implemented. The computersystem 111 includes a bus 112 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 113 coupled with the bus 112for processing the information. The computer system 111 also includes amain memory 114, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), andsynchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), coupled to the bus 112 for storinginformation and instructions to be executed by processor 113. Inaddition, the main memory 114 may be used for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during the execution ofinstructions by the processor 113. The computer system 111 furtherincludes a read only memory (ROM) 115 or other static storage device(e.g., programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electricallyerasable PROM (EEPROM)) coupled to the bus 112 for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processor 113.

The computer system 111 also includes a disk controller 116 coupled tothe bus 112 to control one or more storage devices for storinginformation and instructions, such as a magnetic hard disk 117, and aremovable media drive 118 (e.g., floppy disk drive, read-only compactdisc drive, read/write compact disc drive, compact disc jukebox, tapedrive, and removable magneto-optical drive). The storage devices may beadded to the computer system 111 using an appropriate device interface(e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), integrated deviceelectronics (IDE), enhanced-IDE (E-IDE), direct memory access (DMA), orultra-DMA).

Further, exemplary embodiments include or incorporate at least onedatabase which may store software, descriptive data, system data,digital images and any other data item required by the other componentsnecessary to effectuate any embodiment of the present system known toone having ordinary skill in the art. The database may be provided, forexample, as a database management system (DBMS), a relational databasemanagement system (e.g., DB2, ACCESS, etc.), an object-oriented databasemanagement system (ODBMS), a file system or another conventionaldatabase package as a few non-limiting examples. The database can beaccessed via a Structure Query Language (SQL) or other tools known toone having skill in the art.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the computer system 111 may also includespecial purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (e.g., simpleprogrammable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices(CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)).

The computer system 111 may also include a display controller 119coupled to bus 112 to control a display 120, such as a cathode ray tube(CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD) or any other type of display, fordisplaying information to a computer client. The computer systemincludes input devices, such as a keyboard 121 and a pointing device122, for interacting with a computer client and providing information tothe processor 113. Additionally, a touch screen could be employed inconjunction with display 120. The pointing device 122, for example, maybe a mouse, a trackball, or a pointing stick for communicating directioninformation and command selections to the processor 113 and forcontrolling cursor movement on the display 120. In addition, a printermay provide printed listings of data stored and/or generated by thecomputer system 111.

The computer system 111 performs a portion or all of the processingsteps of the invention in response to the processor 113 executing one ormore sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, suchas the main memory 114. Such instructions may be read into the mainmemory 114 from another computer readable medium, such as a hard disk117 or a removable media drive 118. One or more processors in amulti-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 114. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are notlimited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

As stated above, the computer system 111 includes at least one computerreadable medium or memory for holding instructions programmed accordingto the teachings of the invention and for containing data structures,tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of computerreadable media are compact discs, hard disks, floppy disks, tape,magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM,SDRAM, or any other magnetic medium, compact discs (e.g., CD-ROM), orany other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, or other physicalmedium with patterns of holes, a carrier wave (described below), or anyother medium from which a computer can read.

Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, thepresent invention includes software for controlling the computer system111, for driving a device or devices for implementing the invention, andfor enabling the computer system 111 to interact with a human client.Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers,operating systems, development tools, and applications software. Suchcomputer readable media further includes the computer program product ofthe present invention for performing all or a portion (if processing isdistributed) of the processing performed in implementing the invention.

The computer code devices of the present invention may be anyinterpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited toscripts, interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Javaclasses, and complete executable programs. Moreover, parts of theprocessing of the present invention may be distributed for betterperformance, reliability, and/or cost.

The term “computer readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to the processor 113 forexecution. A computer readable medium may take many forms, including butnot limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmissionmedia. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magneticdisks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the hard disk 117 or theremovable media drive 118. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, suchas the main memory 114. Transmission media includes coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that make up the bus112. Transmission media also may also take the form of acoustic or lightwaves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying outone or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 113 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions for implementing all or a portion of the present inventionremotely into a dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to the computer system 111may receive the data on the telephone line and use an infraredtransmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrareddetector coupled to the bus 112 can receive the data carried in theinfrared signal and place the data on the bus 112. The bus 112 carriesthe data to the main memory 114, from which the processor 113 retrievesand executes the instructions. The instructions received by the mainmemory 114 may optionally be stored on storage device 117 or 118 eitherbefore or after execution by processor 113.

The computer system 111 also includes a communication interface 123coupled to the bus 112. The communication interface 123 provides atwo-way data communication coupling to a network link 124 that isconnected to, for example, a local area network (LAN) 125, or to anothercommunications network 126 such as the Internet. For example, thecommunication interface 123 may be a network interface card to attach toany packet switched LAN. As another example, the communication interface123 may be a wireless link. In any such implementation, thecommunication interface 123 sends and receives electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streamsrepresenting various types of information.

The network link 124 typically provides data communication through oneor more networks to other data devices. For example, the network link124 may provide a connection to another computer or remotely locatedpresentation device through a local network 125 (e.g., an802.11-compliant wireless network) or through equipment operated by aservice provider, which provides communication services through acommunications network 126. In preferred embodiments, the local network124 and the communications network 126 preferably use electrical,electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Thesignals through the various networks and the signals on the network link124 and through the communication interface 123, which carry the digitaldata to and from the computer system 111, are exemplary forms of carrierwaves transporting the information. The computer system 111 can transmitand receive data, including program code, through the network(s) 125 and126, the network link 124 and the communication interface 123. Moreover,the network link 124 may provide a connection through a LAN 125 to amobile device 127 such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) laptopcomputer, or cellular telephone. The LAN communications network 125 andthe communications network 126 both use electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through thevarious networks and the signals on the network link 124 and through thecommunication interface 123, which carry the digital data to and fromthe system 111, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting theinformation. The processor system 111 can transmit notifications andreceive data, including program code, through the network(s), thenetwork link 124 and the communication interface 123.

Other aspects of the invention may include data transmission andInternet-related activities. See Preston Gralla, How the Internet Works,Ziff-Davis Press (1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference intothis patent application. Still other aspects of the invention mayutilize wireless data transmission.

According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a system and method forvacation club management are disclosed. The system can allow timeshareclub members to track timeshare ownership information and to easilyconvert vacation club points into affiliate program points. The systemcan allow a member to track: each vacation club of which the user is amember; the type, size, and other characteristics of each ownershipinterest (e.g., specific units, length of timeshare ownership, ownershipperiods, and so forth) in the club owned by the user; the contractnumber and any other related data for each ownership interest; for eachinterest, the type of timeshare usage owned by the member; the pointvalue of each timeshare usage; any timeshare exchange networks of whichthe user is a member or with which each vacation club is associated; andany affiliate programs of which the user is a member or with which eachvacation club is associated. For each timeshare ownership interest, thesystem can further track the points that have been used by the owner;the points that are remaining; and the points that have been convertedfor use with an affiliate program or timeshare exchange network.Additional features of the system disclosed herein can include providingeasy access to contact information for each vacation club, including theowner services phone number with auto dial, the owner services websiteaddress with direct link, and any other pertinent information. Thesystem can also provide easy access with direct links to websites foraffiliate point programs such as hotel point programs, timeshareexchange partner networks, and loyalty point programs such as airlinemiles. The system can further offer the owner local informationservices, including local maps, live navigation, and information aboutlocal businesses, destinations, transit terminals and points ofinterest, for example airports, ports, bus and rail stations,restaurants, banks, bars, theaters, recreational sites, and so forth.The system can further include social network aspects. For example, thesystem can allow the owner to maintain a personal profile, which caninclude a photo gallery, news feed, blog, and so forth, and to connectand follow the personal profiles of other owners registered with thesystem. The system can further provide a directory of links to populartravel sites, timeshare sites, or any other desired sites. The systemmay be implemented on a variety of computing devices, including personalcomputers, portable devices, tablets, smartphones, and so forth, and avariety of operating systems. Interfaces for the system may beimplemented via the web, or on customized applications for a particularoperating system.

In exemplary embodiments of the vacation club management system, a user,who may be an owner of an interest in one or more vacation clubs, canregister an account with the system. The owner can subsequently inputdata relating to their interest in any vacation clubs, as well datarelating to their accounts with affiliates and exchanges, as describedin detail below.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a vacation club managementsystem 200. Vacation club management system 200 can include a server 202having a database 203 on which a variety of data may be stored and aprocessor 205 for executing software instructions. Server 202 may becommunicatively coupled, for example through a network 206, to anynumber of computers 204, computing devices or communication devices,such as, but not limited to, smart phones and tablet computers, as wellas any other type of computing or communication device. Additionally,server 202 may be communicatively coupled, for example over a network210 to a plurality of third party servers 208, for example servers ofvacation club systems, hotel systems, and travel activity providersystems.

Server 202 may function in a manner so as to provide and store any of avariety of data. For example, when accessed via network 206, server 202may provide website content and website access. In such an example, auser at computer 204 may be able to navigate to the website housed onserver 202. The user at computer 204 may then be able to view data orgain access to an area of the website that is customized for that user,for example pages providing user-desired content and user-providedinformation.

FIG. 3 a shows an exemplary menu interface 300 for a vacation clubmanagement system. The menu interface can include links 302 for viewinga user's vacation club portfolio, viewing the user's affiliate pointssuch as airline and hotel points, viewing the owner's timeshare exchangenetworks, viewing the user's personal profile, including photos andvideos, viewing and editing notes, viewing a vacation snapshot, andviewing local information, such as business, destination, transitterminal, and point of interest information. The user can click each ofthe links to display the corresponding interface for that link. Theseinterfaces are discussed in detail below.

System 200 can allow the user to register any desired amount of vacationclub ownership interests, including a plurality of interests at the samevacation club, as well as a plurality of diverse vacation clubs of whichthe user is a member, or in which the user has one or more interests.The system can then display each vacation club interest to the user, forexample in the vacation club portfolio interface 310 shown in FIG. 3 b.This can provide the user with easy access to information pertaining toeach vacation club interest. For example, the exemplary vacation clubportfolio interface 310 can include a listing of each vacation club ofwhich the user is a member. Each vacation club in the list can beprovided as a clickable widget 312 that the user can select to view avacation club details interface 320, shown in FIG. 3 c. Additionally,the vacation club portfolio interface can allow the user to modify theportfolio so as to add or remove vacation clubs. Adding a vacation clubcan likewise bring up details interface 320 or a similar interface toallow the user to input details regarding the newly added club. Thedetails interface 320 can allow the user to view or edit specificdetails 322 regarding a particular vacation club. Selecting any of thepoints details can bring up a related point tracking interface 500,shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of a method 400 for registering aninterest in a vacation club. At step 402, a new vacation club interestrecord is created in the database 208 of system 200. At step 404, system200 can receive details regarding the vacation club from the user.Exemplary club details may include the name of the vacation club, thelocation of the vacation club, the exchange partners affiliated with thevacation club, and so forth. At step 406, system 200 can receive theuser's contract number with the vacation club, which can be input by theuser. At step 408, system 200 can receive details of the user's interestin the vacation club. Exemplary ownership interest details can includethe property type, the property size, the property location, the timerange of ownership, the existence of a lock-off option, and so forth. Atstep 410, the system can receive club point details for the user'sinterest in the vacation club. Exemplary club point details can includethe amount of club points and options, the amount of affiliate pointssuch as hotel points, and so forth. Furthermore, the point details caninclude the user's total annual points for the vacation club interest,as well as the user's remaining points for the vacation club interestfor the year. In some exemplary embodiments, information for steps 408and 410 may be input manually by the user. In other exemplaryembodiments, system 200 may communicate with the system of the vacationclub and automatically retrieve data for steps 408 and 410 from thevacation club system based on the user's contract number and any othernecessary identifying information.

The information input into system 200 in method 400, including the clubdetails, interest details and club point details may then be displayedto the user by system 200 in the vacation club details interface 320 ofFIG. 3 c. In particular, the system can display the total amount of clubpoints and/or options that the user receives for a particular year, theremaining amount of points and/or options, and any points that areavailable for use with affiliates such as hotels, exchange partners, andloyalty programs. Furthermore, some or all of the ownership details mayonly be shown if the particular resort does not utilize a point/optionbased system. System 200 can further allow the user to edit any of theabove data at any desired time.

System 200 can also allow the user to register any desired amount oftravel activity partners of which the user is a member. The term “travelactivity partner,” as used herein, can include vacation club exchangepartners, hotel point affiliates, loyalty point programs, and so forth.Vacation club exchange partners, also known as vacation exchangenetworks, can be associations of vacation clubs that allow owners ofvacation club interests to exchange a portion of their time ownershipinterest for a stay at another vacation club. Hotel point affiliates canbe hotel companies or chains that allow owners of vacation clubinterests to exchange a portion of their time ownership interest for astay at a participating hotel. Loyalty point programs can includecertain hotel point programs, airline miles, charge card rewardprograms, and so forth. The loyalty point programs can allow owners ofvacation club interests to exchange a portion of their time ownershipinterest for points in the loyalty point programs, for example a certainamount of miles on a participating airline.

In some exemplary embodiments, at step 412, travel activity partnerssuch as exchange partners, hotel point affiliates, and loyalty pointprograms can be associated with at least one ownership interest in avacation club. The user may associate the travel activity partners byselecting the desired field when registering an ownership interest inthe vacation club, thereby informing system 200 that the particulartravel activity partners is associated with the particular ownershipinterest.

Once the user selects the desired field, system 200 can then bring up acorresponding travel activity partner interface 330, shown in FIG. 3 d.The travel activity partner interface 330 can allow the user to view andedit travel activity partner details 332. For example, for vacation clubexchange partners, the system can display to the user a list of exchangepartners so as to provide the user with easy access to informationpertaining to each exchange partner. To register an exchange partner,the user can provide system 200 with exchange partner details, such asthe name of the exchange partner, the user's account number with theexchange partner; and login credentials such as the username andpassword of the user's account with the exchange partner. Additionaldetails may be contemplated and provided as desired. System 200 maycommunicate with the system of the exchange partner, automaticallyretrieve any additional desired data relating to the user's account, anddisplay the data to the user. Similarly, for hotel point affiliates orloyalty point programs, system 200 can display to the user a list ofsuch point programs so as to provide the user with easy access toinformation pertaining to each point program. To register aloyalty/hotel point program, the user can provide system 200 withdetails of the loyalty point program, such as the name of theloyalty/hotel point program, the user's account number with theloyalty/hotel point program; and the username and password of the user'saccount with the loyalty point program. Additional details may becontemplated and provided as desired. System 200 may communicate withthe system of the loyalty point program, automatically retrieve anyadditional desired data relating to the user's account, and display thedata to the user.

Once the travel partners are associated, system 200 can receive pointconversion details at step 414. The point conversion details may beobtained automatically from the remote systems of the vacation club,exchange partner, or loyalty program. The point conversion details mayalternatively be entered manually by the user, for example asmultiplication factors for converting vacation club points to travelactivity partner points. The point conversion details can include aplurality of such factors, for example seasonal or class factors, so asto provide for different point conversion ratios based on date, season,class of vacation club interest, class of exchange property requested,travel class, and so forth.

Once the travel activity partners are registered with system 200, thesystem can display to the user the converted point values of the user'svacation club interest points. Thus, for example, the system can displayto the user the amount of vacation club points that the user has at thetime, the equivalent hotel points, the equivalent airline miles, theequivalent exchange partner points, and so forth.

System 200 can further provide for tracking of the user's travelactivity. Such travel activity can include stays at vacation clubs,stays at hotels, use of exchange partners, and usage of loyaltyprograms, and so forth. The system can track the date of such activity,the locations of the activity, the points used for the activity, and anyother desired information relating to the activity.

Additionally, at any time that a user's point balance changes, system200 may track and record such changes. The user's point balance maychange, for example, when the user stays at a vacation club, stays at ahotel, utilizes an exchange partner of the vacation club, utilizes anfrequent travel reward system, or otherwise converts their points.

FIG. 5 shows exemplary point usage interfaces 500. The point usageinterfaces 500 may be provided for the user's vacation club ownershipinterest, as well as for travel activity providers such as exchangepartners, hotel point affiliates, loyalty programs, and so forth. Thepoint usage interfaces can each include at least one field 502, or aplurality of fields, with each field pertaining to a particular instanceof a travel activity. The fields can further display a list of detailsregarding the travel activity, for example, the number of points usedfor the activity, the location of the activity, the dates of theactivity, and any confirmation numbers used for the activity. The pointusage interfaces can further allow the user to add a new travel activityfor tracking of the activity by system 200 or to edit an alreadyrecorded travel activity.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of a method 600 for tracking auser's travel activity. At step 602, a new travel activity record can becreated in the database 208 of system 200. At step 604, system 200 mayreceive information as to the travel activity partner that the userutilized for the travel activity. System 200 may also receiveinformation as to the type of travel activity. Travel activity types caninclude, for example, a stay at a vacation club, a stay at a hotel orother affiliate, a stay at exchange partner location, a flight or otherloyalty program usage, and so forth. The travel activity provider typemay be provided to system 200 by the user. For example, the user canselect, via an interface of system 200, to record a new travel activityand then select the provider of the travel activity (i.e. vacation club,hotel, exchange partner, loyalty program, etc.) that has already beenregistered with system 200. At step 606, system 200 can receive detailsregarding the travel activity. The travel details may include thelocation of the travel activity, the dates of the travel activity, anyconfirmation or identification numbers of the travel activity, and soforth. At step 608, system 200 can receive data as to the points used,if any, for the travel activity. In some exemplary embodiments, data forsteps 604 through 608 may be input manually by the user. In otherexemplary embodiments, a part or all of steps 604 through 608 may beperformed by system 200. For example, system 200 may communicate withthe remote systems of the travel activity partners and retrieve data forsteps 604 through 608 from the vacation club system based on the user'scontract number and any other necessary identifying information. Thesystem can receive this data, for example, upon user request or bymonitoring the systems of the travel providers and retrieving anyactivity updates, for example changes to point balances or otheractivity logs.

Upon receiving data as to points used for the travel activity, system200 can, if necessary, convert the point data, at step 610. For example,if a user has utilized their vacation club points to purchase airlinemiles, the system can convert the used airline miles to vacation clubpoints. At step 612, the system can then update the recorded point data,for example by subtracting the used points from the total pointsavailable to the user. The updated point records can then be displayedto the user, providing a user with easy access to up-to-date pointvalues.

System 200 can provide the user with a log or snapshot of the user'svacation club information and travel activities. An exemplary snapshotinterface 700 is shown in FIG. 7. The snapshot interface can show all orpart of a user's activity for a particular time range. For example, thesnapshot interface can show the user's club stays, hotel stays,exchanges, flights, and any other desired information, for a particularyear, in a chronological format. The snapshot interface can show thename 702 of the club, resort, or other company with which an action wasperformed, and the particular type of action 704 performed. Such actionscan include point conversions, dates and time ranges of stay bookings,available points, and so forth. The user can select any particular itemin the vacation club interface to display detailed information about theparticular item.

In one exemplary embodiment, the snapshot interface may be organized bythe user's vacation club ownership interests. System 200 can displayeach vacation club ownership interest of the user. For each ownershipinterest, system 200 can further display the activities that the userhas undertaken with that interest. For example, if a user has booked astay in the property corresponding to that interest, the dates and otherdetails of the booking may be displayed. If a user has exchanged part orall of that interest, for example with an exchange partner, hotel pointaffiliate, loyalty point program, or other travel activity partner, thedetails of the exchange, such as the amount of points exchanged, may bedisplayed. Clicking on any particular ownership interest can showfurther details of the activities undertaken for that ownershipinterest, such as dates, locations, point usage, and so forth.

System 200 can further include capabilities for recording user notes fortravel activities. The user can use the notes interface to keep notesabout any particular vacation, stay, flight, exchange, or any othertravel activity. The system can automatically record the date and timeof entry of a note and organize the notes in any desired manner, forexample by associating the note with an instance of a travel activityrecorded by system 200. The presence of note may be indicated to theuser, for example, in the vacation snapshot interface.

System 200 can further include capabilities for finding and viewinglocal information. System 200 can allow the user to locate any desiredpoints of interest, such as hotels, airports, and vacation clubs, aswell as landmarks, recreational facilities, and so forth. The user mayenter the name of the point of interest and the city in which the pointof interest is located. Subsequently, the system may present the userwith at least one search result, showing the name, address and contactinformation for the point of interest. The contact information mayinclude phone numbers, websites, email addresses, and so forth. The usermay then select a particular piece of contact information to launch anemail editor, web browser, voice communications program, and so forth soas to easily connect to the point of interest. System 200 can also allowthe user to view a map containing the point of interest and to obtaindirections to the point of interest from the user's location or anyother desired location. The map and direction software may be anysoftware known in the art, or may be proprietary to the vacation clubmanagement system.

System 200 can further include social networking aspects, such aspersonal profile pages. The personal profile interfaces can allow theuser to create a personal page, as well as albums having multimediacontent such as photographs and videos of the user's vacationexperiences, or any other desired photos and videos. The photo and videocontent may be grouped into albums by the user, or may be groupedautomatically by the system based on the metadata of the multimediacontent, such as metadata indicating, for example, date, time, location,of the content, or any other metadata. The personal profile interfacemay be visible to other users of the system, and the user may havecontrol over viewing permissions for the personal profile page. Forexample the user can limit the viewing permissions to select users or toall users. Additionally, a “follow me” widget may be provided on thepersonal profile interface, allowing other users to easily see theuser's content, for example in a news feed or similar arrangement. The“follow me” interface can further include an arrangement of photographs,videos, and/or albums, which may be arranged according to any desiredcriteria and in any desired layout, for example, rows, columns, arrays,or a simulative layout such as a corkboard, album, video player, or anyother layout that may be contemplated.

The various interfaces of system 200 can also include shortcut links tothe other interfaces of the vacation club management system, as well aslinks to bookmarked websites. The links may be grouped into link bars,for example an internal link bar for links to the interfaces of thesystem and an external link bar for links to bookmarked websites. Thewebsite bookmarks may be selected and edited by the user. A default setof website bookmarks may also be provided by the system, for example,popular travel websites and the like. The link bars may be displayed inany appropriate location on the interface, for example at the edges ofthe interface. The display of the link bars may further be toggled bythe user. It should be understood that the link bars may be displayed,if desired, in any of the interfaces of the system described herein.

Additionally, for each vacation club or travel partner registered withsystem 200, easy links to the vacation club or travel partner may beprovided to the user by system 200. For example, in any interface wherethe vacation club or travel partner is displayed, system 200 can providelinks to the website of the vacation club or travel partner, the contactinformation of the vacation club or travel partner, and so forth. Forexample, the user may click on the vacation club or travel partner nameto be taken to the website thereof.

Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein can allow vacation club owners tomanage the facets of their vacation club benefits, including managingpoints, booking club and hotel stays, exchanging points, and bookingaffiliate programs. The system can track a plurality of clubs,exchanges, affiliates and hotels, a plurality of properties within eachclub, and a plurality of accounts. The system can be operable to convertpoint values between clubs, hotels, exchanges, affiliates, and so forth.The conversion may be performed automatically using conversion valuessourced from the clubs, exchanges, affiliates and hotels, or may beentered manually by the users. The system can also present all such datain a convenient manner and in a single online location. Furthermore, thesystem can provide easy access to common travel and vacation sites. Thesystem can also include social networking functionality, including theposting of photographs, videos, blogs, and news feeds to a user'sprofile page, and the ability the user to allow other users, friends,family, or any other desired individual, to follow and view the user'spersonal profile page.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate theprinciples, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of theinvention. However, the invention should not be construed as beinglimited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additionalvariations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should beappreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for vacation clubmanagement, comprising: recording a vacation club ownership interest ina database; receiving details pertaining to the vacation club ownershipinterest; receiving a first point amount pertaining to the vacation clubownership interest; recording a travel activity; receiving a secondpoint amount of points used for the travel activity; and calculating aremaining point amount based on the first point amount and the secondpoint amount.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: associatinga travel activity partner to the ownership interest; and receiving pointconversion details between the vacation club ownership interest and thetravel activity partner.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein calculating aremaining point amount further comprises: converting the second pointamount to a third point amount based on the point conversion details;and calculating a remaining point amount based on the first point amountand the third point amount.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the travelactivity partner is a vacation club exchange partner, a hotel pointaffiliate, or a loyalty point program.
 5. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising receiving details pertaining to the travel activity partner,wherein the details pertaining to the travel activity partner includeone or more of: travel activity partner name, an account numberassociated with the travel activity partner, and login credentialsassociated with the travel activity partner.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein details pertaining to the vacation club ownership interestinclude one or more of: vacation club name, vacation club location, acontract number associated with the ownership interest, property type,property size, property location, time range of fractional ownership,lock-off option existence, and vacation club contact information.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising displaying, to a user, the detailspertaining to the vacation club ownership interest and the remainingpoint amount.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receivingdetails pertaining to the travel activity, wherein the detailspertaining to the travel activity include one or more of: a location ofthe travel activity, dates of the travel activity, and identificationnumbers of the travel activity.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising displaying, to a user, the travel activity, the details ofthe travel activity, and the second point amount.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising displaying, to a user, a snapshot of theuser's vacation club ownership interests and associated travelactivities for a desired time range.
 11. A vacation club managementsystem, comprising: a database for storing data related to at least oneuser account stored in the database, the data including at least onevacation club ownership interest associated with the user account,vacation club details associated with the ownership interest, a pointamount associated with the ownership interest, and at least one travelactivity associated with the ownership interest; a communications linkfor connecting to at least one remote computing device; and at least oneprocessor programmed with instructions such that the system is operableto record a vacation club ownership interest in the database, receivedetails pertaining to the vacation club ownership interest, receive afirst point amount pertaining to the vacation club ownership interest,record a travel activity, receive a second point amount used for thetravel activity, and calculate a remaining point amount based on thefirst point amount and the second point amount.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the at least one remote computing device is a computingdevice of a user having a user account stored in the database.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the at least one remote computing device isa computing device of a travel activity partner.
 14. The system of claim11, wherein the system is further operable to associate a travelactivity partner to the ownership interest, and receive point conversiondetails between the vacation club ownership interest and the travelactivity partner.
 15. The system of claim 15, wherein the system isfurther operable to convert the second point amount to a third pointamount based on the point conversion details, and calculate a remainingpoint amount based on the first point amount and the third point amount.16. The system of claim 11, wherein the system is further operable topresent an interface to a user displaying the details pertaining to thevacation club ownership interest and the remaining point amount.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the system is further operable to receivedetails pertaining to the travel activity, wherein the detailspertaining to the travel activity include one or more of: a location ofthe travel activity, dates of the travel activity, and identificationnumbers of the travel activity.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thesystem is further operable to present an interface to a user displayingthe travel activity, the details of the travel activity, and the secondpoint amount.
 19. The system of claim 11, wherein the system is furtheroperable to present an interface to a user displaying a snapshot of theuser's vacation club ownership interests and associated travelactivities for a desired time range.
 20. The system of claim 11, whereinthe system is further operable to: receive multimedia content from auser associated with a travel activity; and present an interface to auser displaying the multimedia content.